The General Post Office (GPO)

The General Post Office is where the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising raised the Irish flag and made their headquarters. At noon on Easter Monday Padraig Pearse stood on the steps and read out the Proclamation of Independence to a bemused public. By the end of the week the building was shattered and nearly destroyed by fire and artillery shells. The GPO, though decimated, was rebuilt but you can still see the scars of battle on the surviving walls and columns today.